Ex-El Paso city official to go to prison for fraud

(AP) - A former El Paso city official has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to participating in a scheme to accept bribes and kickbacks from a company that repairs city-owned vehicles.

The El Paso Times reports (http://bit.ly/12SWMO6) that Martin Valverde, formerly the city's solid waste superintendent, Lorenzo Avalos, former city fleet maintenance chief, and Albert G. Torres, president of G.O.T. Supply Inc. have been charged in the scheme.

Valverde pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and deprivation of honest services. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone sentenced him to prison on July 10.

According to the indictment, Avalos and Valverde agreed to accept bribes and kickbacks from Torres in exchange for sending city garbage trucks to his company to be repaired.

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